cloakroom

American  

[klohk-room, -room] / ˈkloʊkˌrum, -ˌrʊm /

noun

• cloakrooms
  plural

1. a room in which outer garments, hats, umbrellas, etc., may be left temporarily, as in a club, restaurant, etc.; checkroom.

2. a room adjacent to a legislative chamber or legislative room, where legislators may leave their coats, relax, or engage in informal conversation.

3. British.

   1. a bathroom; a public restroom.

   2. a baggage room, as at a railway station, where packages and luggage may be left temporarily or checked through to one's destination.

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cloakroom British  

/ ˈkləʊkˌruːm, -ˌrʊm /

noun

1. a room in which hats, coats, luggage, etc, may be temporarily deposited

2. a euphemistic word for lavatory

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cloakrooms
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cloakroom

First recorded in 1850–55; cloak + room

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cloakroom cloakrooms

Entry is through a metal detector, and bags must be put in the cloakroom or in lockers, and there are more security guards.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

The leader should function as a player-manager who can be trusted to deliver on the Senate floor and in the cloakroom.

From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2025

Also worth noting: Rose added a toilet and a small cloakroom basin by Thomas Crapper & Co. to add a bit of whimsy to the washroom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2025

The urinals — see the particularly majestic Deco “Radio” Adamsez iteration in the gentleman’s cloakroom of the old Derry and Toms building, Kensington — elevate the form to art even before Duchamp.

From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2024

Mrs. Guest stuck her head back in the cloakroom and said, “I will be right outside. I want no talking and no moving about.”

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Tape it above the door in the House cloakrooms.

From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2024

The Hill also picked out a defined audience—political addicts who want to know what’s happening in the Senate cloakrooms at all times—and catered to its needs.

From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2024

The Capitol’s cloakrooms, hideaways, offices, press galleries and trains are cramped, even if some people are working from home.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 3, 2020

Some rose from their chairs and crossed the chamber to whisper to one another, while others exited the chamber entirely for 15- to 20-minute stretches and could be seen in the cloakrooms on their phones.

From New York Times ● Jan. 23, 2020

Three women had been got in, one to make coffee and the others to preside in the cloakrooms, and Miss Levey had won half-a-crown from Kitty Windus.

From The Story of Louie by Oliver [pseud.] Onions

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